By Crispian Balmer
Reuters
Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:12 PM

PARIS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - France is considering providing only a symbolic force for the United Nations contingent in Lebanon, and not the thousands of troops U.N. officials had expected, Le Monde newspaper said on Thursday.

If true, such a move could seriously delay the U.N. mission, seen as vital to securing peace between Israel and Hizbollah after a month-long war, or even scupper the operation.

U.N. sources in New York said officials were working hard to convince France to anchor the force and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was expected to call President Jacques Chirac during the day to discuss the problem.

Le Monde reported that France wanted to send just a dozen officers and around 200 personnel from an engineering division for the beefed-up U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Many diplomats had expected France to provide at least 2,000 men.

Chirac's office said the military options "were still under review". The French defence ministry has demanded that UNIFIL be given a clear mandate and wants to see what other countries will take part before committing itself.

The military's reticence follows disastrous peacekeeping operations over the past three decades, with France losing 58 paratroopers in a 1983 bomb attack in Beirut and some 84 soldiers during a mission to Bosnia in the early 1990s.

But news of the French reticence surprised many U.N. officials and several Security Council diplomats commented privately that France had written most of the elements concerning the force in a U.N. resolution adopted last Friday.

"The fact that the French led the negotiations for the resolution shows a complete disconnect between the foreign and defence ministries," one diplomat said.

"We understand their offer will be pretty weak. But it is not a done deal," the diplomat added.

CLARIFICATION

A French diplomatic source in Paris said France had always highlighted the dangers of such a mission and said the conditions for the operation had not yet been clarified.

The source added there was no turnaround in the French position and no misunderstanding with the United Nations.

French officials have been very careful not to comment on how many troops Paris would commit to UNIFIL, which is expected to consist of 15,000 soldiers, up from 2,000 at present.

The United Nations hopes France will lead advance contingents of up to 3,500 troops to south Lebanon which the world body wants to field within two weeks.

Other potential troop-contributing nations are due to meet U.N. peacekeeping officials on Thursday to discuss the operation ground rules. Many have not firmly committed any soldiers to UNIFIL before they see what France will do.

A military source told Le Monde that the French hesitation was caused by the "traumatism of Bosnia" and "fears of reprisals from Syria or Iran".

French officials earlier this week expressed concern over who was going to disarm Hizbollah guerrillas -- and when.

The guerrilla movement is backed by Syria and Iran, two countries locked in an increasingly bitter diplomatic battle with France. Paris is worried French troops in Lebanon could unwittingly find themselves caught up in the row.

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau in Paris and Irwin Arieff in New York)

REUTERS Reut15:52 08-17-06